A BRITISH mum trying to flee Lebanon with her two young children has been told she faces at least a two-week wait to leave the country.
Mahasen al-Dada, 28, says she has been left feeling “torn” as her husband is being forced to stay in the Middle East despite an all-out-war in the region edging closer.
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Manchester based Mahasen has been scrambling to find a way to safely leave Lebanon with her family since the UK urged British nationals to leave this week.
Despite being told to flee, Mahasen claims the UK has “no plan of action” to help those stranded in the Middle East.
The mum of two boys, Sultan, 6, and Saif, 5, told Sky News she had been in contact with the UK embassy in Lebanon on Wednesday.
They reportedly told her no repatriation flights are in place for citizens and that she would have to book a commercial flight herself.
When she checked with local airlines and travel agents Mahasen found that the earliest flight for her and the boys isn’t until October 8.
Leaving them all stranded in a place which is said to be on the brink of exploding into a bitter regional conflict between Israel and Hezbollah.
All direct flights leaving Lebanon’s capital Beirut and landing in Manchester have skyrocketed in recent days with seats quickly filling up.
An increasingly desperate Mahasen told Sky News: “I’ve been trying all day to find tickets and there’s no commercial flights.
“Everything has gone. Middle East (Airlines) is still flying, but the earliest flight is 8 October, and the tickets have gone up to £2,000. It’s crazy.”
Some commercial airlines have also already pulled out of flying to and from Beirut as the area becomes more dangerous.
The 28-year-old is now becoming worried that the relentless airstrikes from Israel into Lebanon – which she says “are escalating within hours, even minutes” – could soon hit the national airports.
Leaving everyone in the country stranded for good.
Mahasen only moved to Lebanon in July so she could be reunited with her husband Jad Eltahra who’s visa has been repeatedly rejected.
She says Lebanon was a “beautiful” country up until recent weeks when bombs could be heard “day and night”.
They are asking me to leave my husband in a country where there is war, asking me to save myself and my kids and leave my husband behind
Mahasen al-Dada
The terrified mum has spent the past few nights on the brink of a panic attack fearing that the sounds of explosions are coming closer and closer to the family home.
She described Tuesday night as being “really scary”.
“It was something I’ve never been through before until now. It’s really surreal, it feels like I’m awake but I’m dreaming.”
The psychology and criminology graduate has been fighting to get the UK to allow her husband to return to Manchester with them.
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Over the past few years he has seen several applications for a visa denied with the latest seeing him asking for a 10-day visitor pass.
The refusal letter, seen by Sky News, says Mr Eltahra is yet to demonstrate he has received an income or that he would not overstay his leave to remain in the UK.
The couple don’t want to permanently to stay in the UK, Mahasen says.
The constant rejections has led to the pair becoming frustrated with the way the system works as they fear Mr Eltahra will be forced to live with the potential war at his doorstep.
A dejected Mahasen said: “It’s not easy to just leave family behind.
“They are asking me to leave my husband in a country where there is war, asking me to save myself and my kids and leave my husband behind.
“They disregard him like he’s not human just because he doesn’t have a passport.”
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer told Brits in Lebanon to “leave immediately”.
The Foreign Office has been warning Brits that they should evacuate from the country for days.
Moves have already been made to arrange “Operation Meteoric” which will see 10,000 citizens evacuated from Lebanon as part of emergency procedures.
Defence chiefs are also moving 700 troops to Cyprus to join up with hundreds of British forces already on the Mediterranean island.
Fears around a drastic escalation of fighting in Lebanon are increasing after Israel announced plans to start calling up its reserve troops.
A senior Israel Defense Forces (IDF) chief has already announced they have been planning a ground offensive through the barrage of airstrikes in recent days.
As continued Israeli attacks across the border have forced thousands to evacuate their homes.
Pager and walkie-talkie strike
The spike in fighting follows the coordinated pager and walkie-talkie blitz last week with Israel sabotaging communications devices.
The attacks were aimed at Hezbollah and hit the terror group’s fighters and civilians in Lebanon and Syria.
The strikes, which hit Tuesday and Wednesday last week, killed at least 39 and left thousands more injured.
Doctors in Lebanon have been overwhelmed by casualties after two waves of blasts – with many left blinded.
Skilled physicians say they have never had to surgically remove more eyes before as Hezbollah’s boss labelled the strikes a possible “declaration of war” from Israel.
One of those injured was the Iranian envoy to the country who has reportedly lost an eye.
Hezbollah’s boss Hassan Nasrallah said the group intends to seek revenge for the attacks that “crossed over all the red lines” and will not stop until the war in Gaza ends.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said he “condemned the terrorist act of the Zionist regime… as an example of mass murder”.
Israel reportedly planted the explosives inside the pagers in a years’ long operation that involved firms in Taiwan and Hungary.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has ordered all members to stop using any types of communication devices, Reuters reports.
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